According to Stilson, the insignia, which plays off the original shuttle program logo, was designed by someone at Dryden Flight Research Center and shared with her by United Space Alliance (USA) engineer and aerospace historian Dennis Jenkins.

Harald Kraenzel

I like the design. Hopefully they ask AB Emblem to make an embroidered patch of it.

X-Plane Fan

The story behind this logo is that Dennis Jenkins is working with the team in charge of orbiter disposition so he asked me to design a logo for the team to put on their shirts, use in presentations, etc.

I went with a design similar to the original Space Shuttle logo with an orbiter being unloaded from the SCA at the bottom. The shirts come with and without the 'Orbiters On Display' tab. To my knowledge no patches were made.

p51

I've seen a couple of pins pop up on eBay, I wonder where those are coming from?

Robert Pearlman

My understanding is that the pins were made for team members; they are not a commercial product and are not for sale in stores.

The several pins that were listed on eBay were by the artist who designed the logo (our own "X Plane Fan," Tony Landis).

aero-engineer

That would make a neat patch to go with the rest of the ones that have been produced.

Gonzo

Has anyone seen this patch available anywhere?

Robert Pearlman

To my knowledge, this logo has not been produced as a patch. To date, I have only seen it on embroidered apparel, a lapel pin, medals and on the safety vests worn by United Space Alliance (USA) ferry flight team members.

p51

Knockoffs are on eBay in force now, otherwise I've seen or heard nothing on any sources for them...

X-Plane Fan

The eBay patches are definitely cheap, unauthorized knockoffs of my logo that barely resemble the actual art. No 'authorized' patches were ever made.

Gonzo

Too bad. They would make a great addition to the other related retirement patches. And no, I have no interest in the cheap knock-offs. Not only are they not interesting as a collective piece, supporting that market is a disservice to those that design, manufacture and earn the "real" patches.

Kevin T. Randall

This patch is now available and has been listed at a start price of $39.99 and a Buy It Now price of $60. The seller says they are not the Malaysian knock-offs, but he dose not say who manufactured them. They are 4 1/4" wide x 5" tall.

They are only available to U.S. bidders and buyers.

Update: Two have been sold for $60 each.

This patch has just been re-listed for a third time at the same prices.

Update: The start price has now increased to $49.99 and the Buy It Now price has increased to $75.

Update: The third one was unsold.

Update: A fourth one has been listed for just a $9.99 start price.

Apollo 8

Maybe one should be careful when spending much money on that patch on eBay — there is a knock-off sold by a German company on eBay, at a fair price! It is larger than the Malaysian knock-offs and good looking... and maybe I should not tell that to you, but I bought it for my collection!

Kevin T. Randall

Just incase it is I bought the one above, it certainly looks to be more authentic than the Malaysian knock-offs, but who knows for sure?

I will know a bit more when it reaches my friend who's address I use in the U.S. I will ask him to look at it very closely and give his opinion. It's not an AB Emblem patch.

Maybe X-Plane Fan can tell us if official patches have now been made?

Robert Pearlman

I checked with Dennis Jenkins this morning, who designed this insignia. No authorized or official patches were ever produced.

The artwork was only used for lapel pins, silkscreened vests, embroidered shirts and on documents.

As such, the seller's claim that these patches are rare and non-commercial is false. They are only rare in so much the person who decided to make these only ordered so many, and they were created for sale, i.e. commercial.